Still not done painting. Not sure if I can stand behind my “this is exactly what I needed” statement anymore.

I’m sunburned, my back is killing me because I incorrectly picked up and hauled around a 5 gallon bucket of paint, I have bruises and scrapes from standing in bushes, wrangling roses and pruning some prickly holly bush, I have bug bites, I keep finding paint in my hair despite washing it every day. I’m hoping I don’t have lead poisoning since this is an old house. I’m over it.

We got estimates to have this done, but it didn’t seem like a wise idea to pay someone else to do it since we’ll soon be supporting two households. I knew I had a couple of completely free weeks to fill … so why not? (Said easily in my never-painted-a-house-before state.)

I’m glad we did this – financially and because I’d go out of my everloving mind sitting around with nothing to do each day – but I have a great deal of newfound respect for people who do this for a living because this is some BS. Seriously.
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My week has been absolutely consumed with painting and doing yard stuff. I swear my neighbors are going to think I actually enjoy it.

We planted some rose bushes in the backyard (maybe last year?) that have gone absolutely crazy this week.

No garden this year since we’re leaving, but I planted a few herbs for Jon. We dug the rosemary up from the garden – so that’s there – and I recognize basil. The other two might be sage and thyme? I can’t remember – Jon picked them out. I put them right off the back porch so they might get watered regularly.

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I stood in the kitchen a couple of nights ago eating a handful of sunflower seeds … then wanting ginger snaps … then contemplating cheese … then feeling like I might need more sunflower seeds … until I realized that I was stress eating. I wasn’t hungry – there was no physical indication whatsoever that I needed to eat – I was just eating.

Sounds insane and ridiculous, but the realization of what I was doing hit me completely out of the blue. It’s been a while since I’ve been here without recognizing it.

I’m stressed about a lot of things right now. I’ve left my school and the familiarity that came with it. I’m starting a (somewhat) new short-term job in a couple of weeks with all new clients/cases. I’m starting a new school and a new job in a new state at the end of the summer – which requires packing and moving and (temporarily) leaving and all the sadness that comes with that.

In addition to that stuff – I HATE disorganization and messes and not finishing things once I’ve started. The fact that it’s taking FOREVER to finish this (small) house is killing me. The only thing keeping me from completely losing it is I can leave it all outside and have peace indoors. I have a house full of people coming next week + weekend – which I’m totally excited about – but the house should probably be done by then so I can maybe NOT STRESS about it.

Anyway, life is changing. It’s stressful. I will not let this undo the work I’ve done, though. It’s challenging, but it’s not an excuse to gain weight.
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Needless to say, I haven’t been counting points and I haven’t been to the gym this week d/t the painting situation, but my clothes still fit … so I think I’m alright. I am physically exhausted each night, so I think that’s probably balancing the additional calories I know I’m eating. I haven’t weighed, but I’m ok if I break even this week and next. It’s not like that’s uncommon.
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I’ve taken a break from painting/house stuff this afternoon because I needed to catch up on the rest of my life. Today’s lunch – my favorite comfort food (outside of ice cream, of course):

My lunch companion:

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I’m planning to get up and jog before painting tomorrow. There’s really no excuse not to. 30 minutes really isn’t going to make or break the situation so I’m not sure why I’ve convinced myself to NOT do it all week. This whole stress eating/feeling too consumed to work out stuff is NOT GOOD.